I know, I know. Lolcats are not the hallmark of an intelligent person. I’m not proud of my lolcatz addiction. And I do kind of worry about what it says for my sense of humor that, “Oh, hai,” never fails to make me snigger. Blame it on ceiling cat. Whatever. I defy you to go there, now, and not waste an hour. Go on, I’ll wait.Read More →
I am going to share with you my greatest writing tool, the thing that keeps me sane in the crazy made-up world in my head. Behold, the Scene Tracker. (Please note: This is an excel file. It was virus free when it left my computer, but because I don’t want any mean emails, etc., you are downloading at your own risk, I make no guarantees as to how it will affect your computer). Now that I’ve scared the crap out of you and you probably wouldn’t download it if I paid you, we’ll discuss it’s merits. Here is an actual image of mine from myRead More →
I don’t think I can actually describe how much I love these. I wish I could. Books. Books. That float. On my wall. Just waiting for me. Pinch me. I’m so getting some of these. Seriously, time me.Read More →
Libba Bray, who has the coolest writing name ever, this amusing, and too true for comfort comparison to writing and falling in love. Thanks for meeting me here. Look, I’m just gonna come out with it. This–you, me–it’s not working. I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s…actually it’s you. You’re stupid. And I sort of hate you. But, you know, thanks for the great line on p. 400. This? This is me. Right now.Read More →
I thought that, just to do something different, keep things fun!, I’d write about something that I actually can do, rather than whining about what I can’t. I know, crazy ideas, I’m full of them. I believe that as writers, even when we start writing the first words, the conception of our writing career, we all have pieces of craft that come naturally to us. Maybe, for someone witty, it’s dialogue. For the anal person, it may be structure or outlining. For the introspective, perhaps it’s dishing out emotional punch. Either way, our personalities and experiences come with us to the computer, and one orRead More →
Since I’ve had to move from sitting anywhere I like on my beloved, yet broken, Mac, I’ve created a, well, creative space on my sun porch for writing. I’m a little superstitious about the writing mojo. If by little, it could refer to bordering on paranoia. Anyway, I’ve tried to… not pretty up, but make it more me. I’m not the crafty type, ordinarily, but I bought a cheap lamp, hot glued some fancy fringe and beads around it, and viola: I have a writing lamp. I’ll try to take a picture and post it. Maybe. Anyway, since this is the material girl category, IRead More →
My aunt–the teacher (well, one of my aunts who is a teacher)–sent me this link. It seems this site* is giving one state 50,000 new books. All you have to do is vote, once daily, for the state of your choice. Optionally, you can also let them know what book got you hooked on reading. Hurry, though, voting ends September 15th! *Link is no longer active.Read More →
So, I’m attempting to write my first synopsis. And it’s bringing back all these horrible memories of being paralyzed with fear–literally, can’t write a word, paralyzed–when I first started writing and I read all of these how-to books and web sites. Here’s what I’ve gathered, so far: It’s the opposite of show-not-tell. Tell, tell, tell! Okay, so do what I spent ages learning how not to do?) Tell your whole story, don’t leave unanswered questions. But leave out the parts, like secondary characters and subplots, that aren’t important to the developing relationship. (Well, if they’re not important, why are they in the book at all?)Read More →
I bought this book when it first came out because I loved Stephen King and I’d always thought about writing in a wistful sort of way. King packs in a lot of practical advice and truth about writing in this book. For instance, if you don’t read, forget being a writer. Which, yes, makes sense but even so. I wonder how many people want to write a book, be a published author, who really don’t consider diving into a book one of the true pleasures in life? I do disagree with his assessment that if you have to plan, outline–whatever, that you’re not doing itRead More →
I was reading Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire (of Wicked fame). I don’t know what it is about these stories of his, but he manages to take a story that we know so well, it’s part of our psyche, turn it into something completely different, and yet… the same. The stories suck you in, and it’s not Snow White you’re reading about, it’s Bianca de Nevada, and her father, and the dwarves–Heartless and Mute, Mute, Mute, to name a couple–and the Borgias (real dead people, Lucrezia being cast as the evil stepmother/witch, jealous of “Snow White’s” beauty). Anyway, all I can say is: if GregoryRead More →
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